Biting Midges, Sand Flies and disease vector mosquitoes are blood sucking insect pests that feed on humans and animals alike. Their bites can inflict minor irritation or itching welts lasting for several days. In worse case scenarios, infections or diseases such as Leishmaniasis, Malaria, Dengue Fever or Yellow Fever can result.
The biting midge is known as the primary pest in the Caribbean and is a deterrent for tourism due to the lack of effective solutions to repel the pests and their bothersome bites. The sand fly is another pest prevalent in almost every Caribbean area. Bites from either the biting midge or sand fly can also cause irritation, discomfort and annoyance, and also deter tourism. There are also several forms of mosquito's present in the Caribbean. The largest threats to humans are the mosquitoes of the genera Anopheles, Aedes and Culex, which can carry Malaria, Dengue and Yellow Fever. In recent years, instances of Dengue fever have risen dramatically. Many insecticides utilized to combat biting midges and sand flies are ineffective or insufficiently effective as repellents.
Furthermore, many of the pesticides utilized to repel insects contaminate water sources and are toxic to various forms of marine life in aquatic or ocean environments. Toxicity concerns are particularly important in the Caribbean since many insecticides and pesticides flow into water sources that lead to the ocean. Moreover, marine life such as coral, vertebrates and invertebrates are very sensitive to toxic pesticides. Exacerbating this problem is that many sun bathers, swimmers, divers and snorkelers often do not wash off toxic pesticides prior to nearing aquatic or ocean environments. Additionally, the water used to wash off the toxic pesticides often contains the residues of the pesticides, which may run off or drain into the aquatic environments.
For these and other reasons, there is a long felt need for pesticides that are non-toxic to marine life, are biodegradable, and that have no known negative environmental impacts. Compositions that are non-toxic to mammals, aquatic or marine life are especially important environmentally due to sensitivity of water sources